Police Chief Buck Pollard ruled Stillwater in east Texas for 34 years. The small town didn't have a crime rate because he never arrested anyone - he didn't have to. He had something on everyone in the county and he kept them under his control. Related to half the county, Pollard had the other half in his pocket. Corrupt, he ordered his policemen to keep quiet, deny, lay low and turn a blind eye while pocketing the wads of money Pollard sent their way. When Jane Maxwell, mayor and bank president, produces off-shore accounts in his name, Pollard resigns quickly and quietly.

Enter former FBI agent Jack McBride. His career is declining, his wife left him, and he wants a new start in a quiet small town. He needs to spend time with his 13-year-old son Ethan, who is longing for his mother to return. McBride knows that is never going to happen but is hesitant to share that information with him. Within hours upon arriving, McBride follows the flashing lights to a single-wide trailer. Inside he finds the nude bodies of Gilberto and Rosa Ramos, dead from gun shots. The gun is still in Rosa's hand. Although the scene is made to look like a murder/suicide, Jack has doubts and begins the investigation. Quickly, he is knee-deep in troubles from all directions.

McBride meets Ellie Martin while closing on the house he bought from her. She is a bank executive, leaving that day to follow her dream. She is opening a book store/coffee shop. An instant attraction is sparked. Walking behind her, his FBI training in profiling kicks in. Tall, attractive, nice eyes, unable to scope out her figure because of her outdated uniform. He can tell she has had significant weight loss recently. He likes the way she walks and guesses her age to be near his. Nice package and he plans to get to know her.

Ethan is all set to hate the town. Proud his dad was formerly FBI, he questions the Police Chief role. Will he wear an ugly police uniform, a cowboy hat, and arrest dirty rednecks? His dad is a city boy through and through. No way would he last in this town. Ethan makes few friends. He takes photographs all over town to fight boredom. What else is there to do? Ethan is a "chip off the old block." He's curious, observing people, sees through lies, always testing, exactly like his dad. His plans: wait it out here until his mother comes back. They will be a family again.

In her debut novel, Melissa Lenhardt spins a complex plot about murder and mayhem in Stillwater. McBride solves two murders, a suicide, and the identity of a decades old skeleton dug up in the woods. Blackmail, illegal immigrants, drugs, child porn, along with a long list of colorful characters round out this exciting adventure. I am sure a sequel will be coming to continue the pursuits of Jack McBride, Ethan and Ellie, and I will be waiting. Great read!